Free Magic
by fd
Summary: A series of short stories about different characters from the fandom, mostly centering around romance because I just can't seem to get away from it. And yeah .. random title. I just like the song. [Update: Takagi and Sato]
1. Sometimes Insomnia is Easier

_Sometimes Insomnia is Easier_

Once upon a time, there was a lovely princess named Mouri Ran who lived in a beautiful castle with her father and little brother-esque charge named Edogawa Conan. She had once been courting a dashing prince by the name of Kudo Shinichi (although both vehemently denied it) but the demons known as responsibility and cases to be solved had pulled him away from her (or so she believed). And he didn't even call her very often, either. The next time he came home, she'd have to give him a talk about his responsibility to her. She blushed at the thought. Perhaps not.

Coming out of her fantasy, she glanced into the main room of the apartment from the kitchen and smiled. Her father was sprawled out across his desk, sound asleep, while Conan dozed on the couch. She walked out into the room and took a seat next to the sleeping boy. Of course he was tired. They had been out late last night. As it always seemed to work, someone had been murdered at the dinner party they had been attending and, of course, Mouri Kogoro was on the case. _'As was Conan'_, she thought softly. The young boy thought she didn't notice the way he led her father through his deductions and she smiled at the imagined look on his face when she would finally tell him she knew.

She shook her head at his sleeping form, taking in his image. His glasses pressed uncomfortably against the base of his nose. How many times had she told him to take them off before he fell asleep? Honestly, she thought, that boy had some kind of complex, overly protective of those lenses. She reached over and slid them off gently, laying them on the coffee table. One more smiling glance at the prone form and she returned to the kitchen.

It had been almost a half hour in the kitchen when she heard a vaguely familiar voice from the other room. Startled, she turned off the faucet to make sure she was hearing correctly. And there it was again! Grabbing a dish towel to fervently dry her soapy hands, she furrowed her brow as she tried to place the voice. It wasn't unwelcome but it certainly wasn't a normal noise for the house, either. She gripped a broom that was lying nearby and clutched it in front of her as a dusty shield.

An inspection of the outlying room turned up no suspicious persons. Only that her father had shifted in his sleep and Conan seemed to have his mouth blocked by his bowtie. It was actually almost cute, Ran thought, and her mind drifted to the camera sitting in her purse. As quietly as she could, she made her way across the room towards where her red bag sat on a chair near the door. When she was level Conan, however, she heard something that made her heart stop.

"Ran."

She stopped moving, shocked and scared. Her breath hitched in her throat.

"Shi-Shinichi?"

He wasn't anywhere. She knew that. One glance at the apartment told her that. So where was his voice coming from?

"Ran, it's me."

She looked down at the boy on the couch next to her. It couldn't be. It just couldn't. It was clear that he was dreaming; she could see the flicker of his eyelids that showed that he was in REM. And Ran had read that children asleep sometimes held long conversations they never remembered when they woke up. It made sense. But why? Why did he sound like Shinichi?

"Oh," she slowly said to the sleeping boy, still not quite believing what she was doing. "Hello, Shinichi. What have you been up to?" The boy groaned in his sleep.

"What do you think I've been up to?" her young friend asked in the voice of Shinichi. "Honestly, I'm exhausted, running around so much." Ran stared at him incredulously.

"Where have you been, Shinichi?" she asked quietly, not so sure she wanted to hear the answer. The boy snorted.

"Where have I been? Right here, of course. It is a hassle pretending to be Conan but I'd say I've been pulling it off pretty well. You don't even seem to notice." She blinked.

"I haven't seemed to notice?"

"Well," he started off, "you did a bit at first. But I tricked you well enough to throw you off my track, what with Haibara, Heiji, Kid, and everyone helping me out."

"Then, you really are Conan?" She could see him smile.

"Yeah. Funny it took you so long to see it. I mean, not that I wanted you to. The last thing I'd want would be for you to be in danger. But of all the people I thought would figure it out."

"Why didn't you tell me, Shinichi?" She completely went along with it. She had assumed by now that it was some sort of crazy dream where Conan thought he was Shinichi. It was sweet, in a kind of creepy way. She never realized how much he idolized the older boy before. She'd have to mention it to Shinichi the next time he called.

"Why? Because I didn't want to put you in danger. If Gin or Vodka ever found out about this… You won't tell them, will you, Ran? You won't tell anyone that you found out who I really am?" His voice took on an urgent quality. She took a step back.

"Of course not, Shinichi." He noticeably relaxed. Ran started to wonder how vivid this dream was. It seemed almost like a nightmare.

"Well, good then. You know, I missed talking to you like this. Ever since I went running off at Tropical Land, everything's been horrible. I should never have followed them. I'm sorry, Ran. I should have stayed with you. It was your day, after all. You had won the championship. I don't even know why I ran off."

Ran stared at the boy. She had never told him why Shinichi and she had been at Tropical Land that day. Breathing a little more raggedly, she decided to question the slumbering child.

"Shinichi, what's our favorite color?" He frowned.

"Red, of course. Why? Did you forget?" He grinned a little.

"No. I just thought you might have."

"Oi. I haven't been removed from myself long enough to forget something like that."

She looked down at him. With the glasses removed, it was evident that the boy was the spitting image of Shinichi as a child. How had she not realized it before? And all those times when he had known exactly the right thing to say. All the times when he seemed to react differently than the other children. How had she not seen it?

"It's been nice to see you again, Shinichi, but I need to go finish dinner," she said as she backed away. This was a lot to process but, really, it came more easily than she thought it would. It had always been there; she just had never noticed it before. He pouted and she had to hold back a giggle.

"Alright. But, I miss you, Ran."

"I miss you, too."

And with that, the boy flipped back on his side, still oblivious to all that had just gone on. Ran walked numbly back into the kitchen. Noticing the stew still on the open range, she quickly tended to it. And decided she should make a lemon pie for dessert. Just because.

An hour later, a young boy woke up from quite a nap. He patted around for his glasses, finally finding them on the table.

_'How did they get there?'_ he wondered.

Glancing down at his bowtie, he noticed in a panic that it was still set at Shinichi's voice from the last phone call. Turning it off for the moment, he thanked his lucky stars that nothing had come of it.

**Author's Note**: Well, the first of at least two stories, done. I have ideas for a few more but this will pretty much be a 'write when the feeling gets to you' story. No plot, just a few almost drabbles about different characters. Hope you all enjoyed it.


	2. Travel Plans

_Travel Plans_

By this point, Kaito though he had seen everything. After all, he really had the opportunity to. Being a gentleman thief had its advantages. Seeing the world, knowing in-depth information about a number of different topics, it all came with the job.

If there were another thing he though knew it all on, it would be Aoko. They'd known each other for as long as he could remember and he could read her like a book (something he prided himself on).

But as he glanced over at his new wife, he found himself frowning. They had been packing for their honeymoon for almost an hour now (you know girls and suitcases) but something wasn't right. Every time he tried to bring it up, however, she simply flashed him her brightest smile and went back to her suitcase. And it bugged him something terrible. He simply couldn't figure it out.

_Why_ was she bringing a mop?

**Author's Note**: Just another little story. Quite little this time. Just got to school early this morning and wrote this in an English notebook, along with the beginning of the next one. Not that I'm sure when that'll be done. We'll see.


	3. For Time's Sake

_For Time's Sake_

How the hell did he get himself into this?

Heiji contemplated his fate as he sat in the designated "boyfriend-chair" outside of the woman's dressing room. Kazuha had wanted to go shopping. He probably should have picked up on this as a danger sign but he had missed a movie with her last week for a case felt he owed it to her.

Perhaps he didn't owe it to her that much, though. He sent a glare towards the stack of bags and boxes he had been carrying for the past three hours. Did she realize how much work it was cleaning up after her with this stuff?

"Oi, Ahou!" he called towards the dressing room door. "How long does it take you to figure out that nothing looks good on you?" He grinned as he heard her huff behind the door. He loved to tick her off; the look on her face was always priceless.

"I'll come out when I'm good and ready, Ahou," was the response from the behind the beige door. "Why don't you call Kudo or something? Chat about that case last week. Well, gloat more like it, knowing you." Heiji blinked. Calling Kudo did sound like a good idea.He enjoyedshowing up that eastern detective, even if they _were _good friends by now. In the back of his mind, he wondered why Kazuha had mentioned it. Perhaps she wanted to talk to Neechan. Yes, that was probably it. She and Shinichi had been inseparable ever since he had returned to himself and Kazuha was betting on that, he figured. Well, he had nothing better to do. He pulled out his cell and dialed Kudo's number.

"Hello?" Ran's voice answered. Heiji blinked again. He hadn't expected her to answer the phone.

"Neechan?" he questioned.

"Heiji, is that you?"

"Yeah. I was just calling Kudo…" He heard a sigh on the other end of the line.

"Well, he's not here right now. Should I tell him you called?"

"No, that's alright. I didn't really have anything important to say. But is everything alright over there? Where's Kudo?"

"Where is he always? Technically, we're still out to dinner. But we heard a scream and you know that he was out. I know that they need him. He'll come back soon enough." Heiji could hear the sad smile in Ran's voice and could almost imagine her sitting at a table, dressed prettily as she stared out the window, simply waiting. He should knock Kudo upside the head next time he saw him.

"Of course he'll be back," Heiji joked. "He just got back to you. He's not going anywhere for awhile." Ran's nervous laugh rang over the line. He could tell she was blushing.

"Oh, no. I mean, his dinner's getting cold is all. What about you?" she changed the subject. "What's Kazuha up to today?"

"Why would I care what that ahou is doing?" he muttered, fully aware that he said it only to cover his own back. Ran seemed to realize this, as well.

"Oh? Is she there?" Heiji almost sputtered and fumbled with the cell phone.

"Oh, no. She, um, she had—"

"Heiji? Is Ran on the phone?" Kazuha's voice broke through his stupor. '_Damn, caught'_, he thought. He'd better say something.

"Yeah. I called Kudo but –" He hadn't really thought about where they were beyond the fact that it was a store. A clothing store. But since when was it a dress store?

There she stood, dressed all in blue, up to the ribbon in her hair. Off the shoulder, down to her ankles, stylishly cut. Heiji took it all in but didn't notice any of it. All he could comprehend was that she looked stunning.

"Heiji?" She looked at him, confused. Was something behind her? He was staring awfully intently in that direction. She turned to look but found nothing. Well then, why was he staring in that direction with all the blood rushing to his face? He blinked when he heard her voice.

"Oh, yes. Ran. On phone," he managed to sputter out as he handed the phone (or, more specifically, held it out in her general direction). She took it with a smile.

"Ran? Hi! Yeah, Heiji took me shopping today. I'm looking for a dress for my neighbor's wedding. You? Aw, well, I'm sure he'll be back as soon as he solves it."

Heiji was listening half-heartedly. He knew about that wedding, was invited even, but this was the first time he considered going, just to see her dressed like this again.

"What? Oh, I actually heard Heiji on the phone with you and stepped out to say hi. Ha, yeah, I'm still wearing the dress I was trying on. Huh? Um, it's blue, longish? I don't know about i—"

"—you should get it." Heiji cut her off. She whirled around to look him in the eye, a blush rising to her cheeks.

"What?" She asked in anticipation. At the look on her face, Heiji seemed to realize himself.

"Well, I mean, nothing could make a girl with no legs like you look good, so might as well go with what you have on. You know, for time's sake." He groaned at the look on her face. She saw right through that.

"Ran, I think we found a keeper," she murmured back into the phone as she turned her back to him. "I'll call you later, okay? Have a good time with Kudo!" She hung up and twirled around to face him again, a grin on her face and a light blush on her cheeks.

"Alright. This one, then. For time's sake."

**Author's Note:** The longest of the fics thus far. But the plunnies seem to be attacking me more and more each day, so don't fear. I have ideas for at least two more (no rest for those wicked plot rabbits. The shower. The bed. They never leave one be). Here's to updating again soon.


	4. At the Races

_At the Races_

"Go, go, go!" Kogoro yelled at the television, as if his unheard shouts would rouse his horse. At this point, though, he was willing to try anything; the horse was in dead last.

"I can't believe you, dad," Ran murmured from cleaning the living room. "If you're going to bet our money, at least bet on a horse that might win."

"Hey," Conan started as he picked up the paper. "According to this, that horse hasn't been doing well lately."

"Let me see that," Ran grabbed the paper from Conan. "Dad, honestly, what were you thinking?" She sighed in exasperation.

"Geez," Kogoro sighed. "Alright, I admit it. Not a good choice of horse. I guess I just thought it might be lucky."

A sudden shout from the television brought their attention back to it. Lo and behold, Kogoro's horse was catching up. Past one horse, then another. Pretty soon, she was in the top three. Kogoro, Ran, even Conan was cheering her on. It was a photo finish in their favor.

"Yes!" Ran jumped up in excitement. She grabbed Conan and started dancing around the office. "With the odds _that_ against us, we must have made so much money! Oh, I'm going to make steak for dinner!" She let the rabidly blushing boy go, grabbed her purse, and rushed out the door before either man could protest.

Left alone together, Conan picked up the paper again to try and see exactly how much money they had won. He smirked when he realized why Kogoro thought this horse might be 'lucky'.

"Wow, uncle, we sure are lucky you bet on Queenie, huh?" he questioned in his irresistible little boy voice. Kogoro saw right through his charm.

"Yeah. Lucky." He turned away from the boy's grin.

'_Lucky, my ass',_ he thought to himself. '_Queen E never loses a case.'_

**Author's Note: **Written this morning in first period as a teacher's aide in choir doesn't have too much to do when they take tests. Except more soon as I already started another one. So, hope you enjoy.


	5. And the Band Played On

_And the Band Played On_

She twiddled her fingers. She picked at the imaginary lint on her sweater. She was tempted to tie and retie her shoes. Anything to keep her from looking up.

Because, Toyama Kazuha knew, if she looked up, she would be so entranced, she would not be able to look anywhere else ever again. Okay, maybe that was a little bit of an overstatement but you get the general idea.

You see, it had been forty minutes at the concert already. The band was alright (oh, who was she kidding? She came because Heiji liked them.). But really, did they have to stand so close to each other? There was no designated seating in the theater, standing room only. And people were vicious. Heiji almost had to manhandle a couple of people earlier to keep the two of them together. She had almost helped; well, she would have, if she really cared about getting closer to the front. Honestly, she just tried to make sure she was close to Heiji. She didn't want to get split up.

But now the lights were down and the band was playing. The various shifting of the crowd had died down to the various people dancing with not much forward momentum. It was dark, but not dark enough that you couldn't see the person next to you. Actually, it was kind of neat. Not that she would tell Heiji that; she had fought violently to see a band she liked, but, as it always seemed to work out, he had won. Not that she minded getting a chance to see the victorious look on his face. It was almost worth losing for that. _Almost._

In the faint light from the stage, she could see Heiji. He was reflected in soft blues and purples. Looking up at him, very discretely of course, she noticed something she couldn't believe she hadn't before. There was this little spot on the back of his head and, remarkably, it looked like all of the hair that covered his scalp came from it. She stared in almost wonder at it, trying to figure out how enough hair to cover an entire head (especially one as big as Heiji's) could come out of such a tiny spot.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there staring but it was at least one song because the applause snapped her out of it. She clapped as the band began their next song. Slowly, her eyes moved back to their focus on the back of her best friend's head. Thoughts wandered through her head but she didn't pay attention to them. One kept nudging at her brain, though.

_'I want to kiss it.'_

She blushed at the thought, trying to convince herself that she was being weird, influenced by the music, or the atmosphere, or anything that would explain why she would suddenly want to kiss this ahou. But the more she looked at the spot, the more she wanted to. And not only that. Thoughts of moving from the cute little spot on the back of his head, to his lips, to his neck…

"Oi, Kazuha. What are you looking at?"

She blinked, realizing that the band was taking a five minute break, the lights were up, and the subject of her thoughts was standing there, looking down at her. She blushed a dark red.

"N-nothing. Good set, huh?"

"I know I'm good looking, but try to listen to the band, huh? That's why I brought you, after all," he said with a wink.

"Ahou! I was not staring at you! How could you even think that!" She rambled on angrily, talking about how she was going to beat that smirk off of him. Eventually, the fight died down and the band started again.

And Kazuha kept her eyes preoccupied with the floor.

After picking the last hair off her right shoulder, she let her hands fall to her sides, deciding to just look down and think. Until she felt a gentle press on her left hand. She looked down to see one hand entwined in hers.

Two red faces, two awkward smiles, and one very eventful concert.

**Author's Notes:** Just a little something that was inspired Friday morning and was a long time writing. Expect a new one really soon because it's already written. It just needs to be typed up. And if anyone could tell me the name for that little bald spot on boy's heads? It would be very much appreciated. I've been driving myself crazy trying to think of what's it called.


	6. Valentine Treats

_Valentine Treats_

It was a sunny Valentine's Day and Kogoro was enjoying every minute of it. Girls. Everywhere and giggling at every little thing. Love was in the air and he loved to watch.

Inevitably, his thoughts turned to his wife. Her face appeared in his mind, every little detail perfection, every flaw missing. Well, she _did _tend to look pretty strict. And she had this habit of furrowing her brows when she was annoyed. And well, yeah, she was _pretty_ but—

His train of thought was broken by his running into someone. He stumbled backwards while the woman fell to the ground. He automatically held his hand towards her.

"I'm sorry. I should've looked where I was going. Are you alright?"

"Kogoro?" He blinked and looked down into the face of his wife.

"Eri?" She had been nearing a smile but she suddenly became controlled. He felt something inside him crack, just a little.

"I – I apologize. I didn't mean to bump into you." She glanced around for an escape. "I should be going." And, indeed, she turned away from him and started to walk.

"Wait," he started. "Eri…" She stopped and turned to face him. _Time to gather your courage, Kogoro. _"Want to get some dinner later? I mean, Ran will be out with that Kudo boy all night and I don't feel like—"

"—8. If you're five minutes late, I'm leaving." He smiled, despite himself.

"See you then." He could have sworn he saw a trace of a smile on her face before she turned again and started to leave.

"See you then."

--

"Okay, where is it?"

"Where's what?" She looked genuinely confused, a cause for concern.

"My chocolate, of course," he said, matter of factly. It was Valentine's Day. That equated with Kazuha giving him chocolate. She did every year. Actually, a lot of people gave him chocolate. Kazuha's was the best though. Not that he'd ever tell her that.

"You just assume," she started out, looking at him incredulously, "that because it's Valentine's Day and I'm a girl that I'm going to give you chocolate?"

"Well, yeah."

"You wouldn't eat it, anyway," she muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. Why don't you just eat the chocolate your fan girls gave you? I'm sure it's delicious." He was started to get annoyed by her antics.

"You know? I wasn't going to but now I think that I will."

"Fine!"

"Fine!" There was much angry glaring, tongues sticking out, and a general argumentative atmosphere. They stalked away from each other.

He found a green-wrapped package on his desk later that day. It honestly _was _the best chocolate he'd ever tasted.

--

Aoko was used to strange things happening around her. She had been friends with Kaito long enough for that. This was beyond unusual, though.

It wasn't everyday Kaitou Kid notified the police that he was going to steal your chocolate.

--

"So, what can you tell me?"

"Well, Inspector Shiratori, it seems that the chocolate comes from Yumi-san and not Sato-san, as we first suspected."

"Good man. I guess there's little reason to worry then." At that moment, Takagi walked into the break room, surprised to see Shiratori and almost the entire bomb squad discussing something.

"Um, hello. What's going on?"

"Nothing, Takagi. Nothing. Just a case. Don't worry yourself about it."

"Alright … I guess." Slightly creeped out, Takagi went back out to his desk, only to discover something he was sure wasn't there earlier: a package of chocolate. Blushing and now acutely aware of what had been going on in the break room, he picked up the box.

He flicked open the card and smiled, almost relieved, to discover that it was from Yumi. With a growl from his stomach, he decided to have some of it. It was only after the third piece that he realized there was something else in the box. Another, smaller box similarly wrapped but with another card attached. A little confused, he opened the card.

_Pretty sneaky, huh? Happy Valentine's Day!_

_Love, Miwako_

If the chocolate did nothing, then the signature was enough to turn him red. He snuck the package into his briefcase and started to plan something for White Day.

Shiratori frowned at the offending package and got himself a coffee.

--

"What is it?" Ran finally asked him.

"Hmm?" Shinichi returned, lazily.

"You've been watching me all day. What's up?" Mentally, he cursed himself for teaching her how to be more attentive.

"I was just thinking about things," he said. It wasn't a lie; he _had _been thinking. Wondering if she had made any chocolate and, if so, whom she had given it to. It seemed to him, as they walked home together, that he wasn't the guy. She wasn't carrying anything; her schoolbag looked empty. But hell would freeze over before he let this "case" pass him by.

"Thinking about what?" A pink blush appeared under her cheeks. He felt himself redden just by watching her.

"Not much," he tried to play off his worry. "Oh, by the way, just curious, you know. Did you make any chocolate this year?"

She giggled at his pout. He noticed that her blush got brighter the more she laughed. Maybe she had forgotten them at home?

"I didn't exactly _make _chocolate this year," she trailed off. He watched her curiously.

"Did you buy it?"

"Closer," Ran whispered as she pulled something out of her pocket. He blinked as he recognized the container.

"Chocolate lip gloss?" She smiled at his confused expression. For being such a great detective, he could be so dense.

"It's elementary, my dear Shinichi."

"You know," he said, now in Holmes mode, "Holmes never actually said that entire phrase. He said each part separately but—"

She had to admit, this was a much more enjoyable way to get him to stop talking about his favorite detective.

**Author's Note: **Sorry that's so late. It was written throughout first period this week, as this aid had nothing to do. Still have another fic written I need to post eventually. Mayhaps in a few days. And I honestly don't know why Kaito and Aoko can't break the 200 word barrier in my stories. I guess I need to work on that.


	7. London's Calling

_London's Calling_

"Kaito? What are you doing?" Aoko murmured dubiously to her best friend. He had been acting strangely all day and she was worried about him. Not that she state it so overtly.

"Huh?" he looked up at her. They were walking home from school and he had been spacing out. Unconsciously as he walked he started to juggle his school bag, bento box, and an apple he had gotten at the store for a snack. He snatched the items up before they fell to the ground. "Nothing, Aoko."

"Baka," she muttered. "Something's obviously bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me, honest." Well, it was almost the truth. It wasn't anything bothering him so much as it was simply thinking. He had to take a trip to Europe soon, he had been tipped off about a priceless jewel unveiling in London early next week, and was slightly worried about it. It wasn't like he hadn't done anything like that before but something about it tugged at him.

"Liar," she frowned at him. He resisted the urge to blow her skirt up. As much fun as it would be to forget his troubles to flee her mop, he actually needed to talk to her for a second.

"Aoko, I think I'm going to take a vacation soon," he started, cautiously. He wasn't sure where he was going with this. She should know where he was, obviously, but he had to make sure she didn't make the connection of Kaito in London and Kid in London.

"Really?" Her expression lit up. "Where are you going?" How could he lie to a face like that?

"England." He chuckled at her gasp. England was far away and it was going to be quite a trip. It was almost unknown territory, the mythic land that Hakuba hailed from. He was waiting for the questions he knew were coming and stopped walking when, a minute later, she said nothing.

"What is it, Aoko?" She was looking at her feet, finding them much more interesting than her friend at the moment. He felt his poker face inevitably slip up.

"That's very far away," she murmured. Inwardly, he sighed. Yes, it was. And it was a long time away from her.

"Yeah," he said calmly.

"Promise you'll be careful?" She asked. It wasn't what he was expecting but he smiled to himself when he heard it. "No funny business on the plane. They can kick you off, you know."

"No magic on the plane. Got it, mom." He smirked at her. She frowned at him.

"I'm just worried about you!" She huffed. He smiled at her.

"I know." She withdrew a little from his bright grin, a pink blush forming under her cheeks.

"Hmm," he began, knowing he was going to regret this minutes after he did it. "You know? I could really use some help with my stuff. I heard that Kid might pull a heist while I'm there, the Omega Diamond being unveiled and all, and I'm going to have a lot of equipment…" He trailed off.

"Then ask a flight attendant to help you," she replied, obviously not understanding what he was insinuating at all. He sighed to himself and tried again.

"I could really use a lovely assistant." She looked at him, almost wide eyed.

"Kaito, that's a lot of money…"

"Don't worry about it," he flashed her one of his notorious smiles. "Jii's got a relative that owns some airline or something. On the house."

"Then?"

"So, want to go?" She smiled brightly.

"When do we leave?" Okay, he was almost to his breaking point.

"Oh, at about, polka dot o'clock," he said fiendishly as, in one motion, he flipped her skirt and began running from the mop he knew would appear seconds after his action. Maybe not the wisest decision but one only he would make. He always had to be himself.

'_Still,_' he thought as he jumped over the handle, '_she better not bring that with her.'_

**Author's Note:** Gah. It is 1 AM. I have to go to school tomorrow. Why am I up and writing this? Posting tomorrow as if I don't sleep now, I'm going to have major issues during the two tests I've got scheduled for tomorrow. But still, yay. Kaito and Aoko have past the 200 word mark!

Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to Fyliwion because her reviews always make me happy. Hope you enjoy this one. :)


	8. Mirror, Mirror

_Mirror, Mirror_

Kaito could be so annoying sometimes.

He had been teasing her all day. It wasn't like this wasn't normal behavior for him but it was really grating on her today. She had overslept that morning, forgotten her English homework at home, and she didn't exactly like the grade she had gotten on the last history test. And to add to this, Kaito had been a jerk all day. Maybe he thought it was some kind of weird payback for making him wait so long this morning. Well, that wasn't her fault; it was her alarm clock's. She started to wring her hands, thinking about a nice way she could tell him to knock it off.

Aoko noticed motion out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see him, smiling innocently, wringing his hands. There was something not quite right about the scene, though. Her hands dropped to her sides as she tried to figure out what it was until, seconds later, his hands dropped, too. She stared at him; he smiled brightly.

"Kaito," she started, her voice measured, "what are you doing?"

"Nothing," he grinned back at her, crossing his arms to become her mirror again. She sighed. She was too tired to take out her mop but knew she had to do something. Suddenly, inspiration hit as she decided to try and find out how far he would take it.

She stuck out her left arm; he stuck out his left arm. She copied with her right; he copied with is right. She crossed her arms, flailed them out, walked like an Egyptian and he copied her every move, grinning brightly the whole time.

"What is this? Some kind of spell?" she heard Akako ask from behind her. She (and her mirror) turned to face the girl.

"No, he just won't stop copying me," she fumed. Akako smiled slowly. Contrary to popular belief, Akako _did_ know when to give up on something and Kaito Kuroba had officially been forsaken last week. However, she had decided to make him her personal project, determined to make him confess to Nakamori as soon as possible. For his own good, of course. None of this silly "getting over him" business.

"Well, I'm sure he'll stop eventually," she said to the annoyed girl and slipped out of the room. Aoko blinked.

"That was strange," she muttered. She turned back to her friend, who shrugged before moving his hands back in imitation of her. She pouted at him and he returned the expression. '_Well,'_ she thought as she noticed how adorable he looked, '_maybe this could be worse.'_

She kept trying to think of weird gestures but he copied them every time. In truth, she was probably more likely to embarrass before him; she was fighting a losing battle.

Suddenly she felt the oddest sensation fill her. It was like she was floating with her feet on the ground. Kaito seemed to notice the new expression come over her. While still mimicking her, he watched her, slightly worried but hidden behind a poker face.

"What's up, Aoko?" he asked calmly as she walked towards him. He didn't know what to think of the hazy grin plastered on her face. He was even more confused and (inwardly) flustered when he felt her hands on his waist.

"Aoko?" he questioned softly as he felt his arms reach down to mirror hers. She simply smiled at him and pulled him closer, drawing her head nearer to his. There wasn't time to be embarrassed; there was only instinct as his head mimicked hers.

It wasn't clear who initiated it as they, like two halves of a whole, closed the distance between them. Kaito didn't know how long they stayed clinging to each other, only that it wasn't long enough. As they pulled apart, he noticed how wide Aoko's eyes had become.

"I—I don't know what came over me. I – oh, Kaito, I'm sorry. I—"He cut her off roughly, pulling her to him by the hands that still rest at her waist. She looked into his eyes, almost as if asking permission. He chuckled and kissed her again.

From the next room over, Akako smiled sadly and began to clean up her belongings.

**Author's Note: **Written…too long ago, based off the way one of my friends was teasing me. That story, however, most definitely did not end the way this one did. Hee. Meant to post this a long time ago. I also have a Takagi/Sato lying around somewhere I never got around to typing up. Maybe later this week. White Day special? We'll see.

I had an idea for an AU-ish Kaito/Aoko story. Should I try?


	9. My Girl

_My Girl_

When Kazuha was mad about something, people tended to know. She wasn't one to mask her feelings; she told you exactly what she thought.

What people didn't know, however, was that Kazuha wasn't as open as she seemed at first. Yes, she'd yell about the little things: when Heiji forgot a promise, didn't walk her home, or tried to lose her before a case. When it came to bigger things, though, she kept it inside.

Now was one of those times.

It was partially her fault, she knew. If she hadn't have brought the girl that had been flirting with Heiji all week up, he wouldn't have told her how hot he thought the girl was. He wouldn't have rubbed it in and bragged about how all the girls were after him. He didn't have to say it; she already knew.

She knew all about the fan clubs, the girls far prettier than she that thought they were in love with him. And she knew that, one day, he'd pick one of them and then where would she be? She couldn't imagine not being the girl in his life and she didn't want to.

And as she sat in the classroom that afternoon, it seemed to be all she could think of. Heiji and some beautiful girl. She hadn't told anyone; how could she? It wasn't like she _liked _him or anything. Really. It wasn't.

She had classroom duty that day and had told Heiji to go on to kendo; she'd catch up with him later. He hadn't noticed she wasn't feeling all that well. No one had. They were all so used to her obvious emotions that they were blind to her subtle ones. Not that she hadn't expected it. She was both thankful and regretful of the time alone to think.

The setting sun fell on her shoulders as she sighed, picking up a dust cloth and wiping down the desks. If only once Heiji would –

She heard a thump as the door was shoved open. A little scared at the sudden noise, she jumped up and looked to the entrance. Heiji stood there, breathing heavily, still in kendo garb. She cocked her head, confused.

"Heiji?" She questioned softly. It looked like he had run up all three flights of stairs that separated her homeroom and his practice. He didn't say anything, simply walking towards her with a soft smile on his face. She hadn't seen him like that in a long time. She was used to him yelling, used to him scolding her for doing something he didn't like. She didn't know how to deal with this new, softer Heiji.

"Come on," he started when he got closer to her. "We're going home."

"Home?" She asked, confused. "Heiji, I haven't finished. I need to—"

"You need to come home," he said matter of factly, taking her wrist to emphasize his point. "Something's wrong and you're going to tell me all about it as we walk home. Then, we're going to eat some cookies that my mom made the other day and you're going to feel better and be back to normal tomorrow. Got it?"

"Heiji, you can't just tell me what to do," she started, pulling her wrist out of his grasp, albeit reluctantly. As she put up a front of being offended, though, she was actually quite touched. He'd noticed and confronted her in the only way he knew how. It was pretty cute, she had to admit. Not that she thought he was cute or anything. No. Of course not. Still, maybe she'd go a bit easier on him than normal.

"By the way," she asked as they made their way out of the classroom, "how did you know something was wrong?" She could almost detect a faint blush on his cheeks before he blustered through his answer.

"You were being such a wimp about it, of course."

--

_"Oi, Heiji," a teammate called out to him. Heiji spun around, his men in his hand as he walked towards the exit of the room. "Where do you think you're going?" Heiji smiled back._

_"Oh, I just need to take Kazuha home. Something's bothering her."_

_His teammates blinked._

_"How can you even tell? She looked fine to me."_

_"Yeah, Heiji. I think you're just imagining things."_

_Heiji simply shook his head at the other boys in the room._

_"What can I say?" he asked with a shrug. "I know my girl."_

**Author's Note: **Another plunnie that came from Mass. I swear, I get the weirdest ideas there. And always Heiji and Kazuha. Weird.

Oh, and men is the name of the helmet in kendo, just so you don't think there are a bunch of little people Heiji keeps in his pocket or something. XD


	10. Coffee Break

_Coffee Break_

It was a routine by this point. Everyday, 10:15 on the dot, Takagi would go to the vending machine on the third floor and order a CC Lemon. Sometimes he wasn't quite thirsty enough for it; sometimes he had been waiting for an hour to quench his thirst. It just had to be 10:15.

Megure had come to rely on this clockwork action and would sometimes have the man get him a drink himself. It had gotten to the point that the division didn't question it anymore. Takagi didn't even seem to notice his coworkers' watch of his habits.

Today was like any other day. Megure handed the man 100 yen for an iced coffee and Takagi walked out the door and down the hall. He twisted to avoid a traffic cop, then the other way, missing another department's detective. It threw him a little off balance and he stumbled forward, jarring into the vending machine.

After buying his boss's coffee, he put in 150 yen for his drink.

"Why CC Lemon?" he heard a voice behind him. "I mean, it's popular enough, I guess, but it doesn't seem like you. You seem like a Calpis kind of guy."

"Calpis?" he returned without turning around. "Too sugary. I like melon soda more than Calpis."

"Then why CC Lemon?"

"I don't know," he answered. "I've always loved it. I got one a couple of months ago and it tasted so good that I kept having to come back."

He heard a sound of affirmation, a sort of 'hnn' that reassured him. He smiled at Yumi's noise.

"But why 10:15?" She asked again. He felt the blood rise to his face.

"Oh, no reason," he tried to brush the question off. She wasn't going to let him get away, though.

"There has to be a reason, though. You go at 10:15 everyday. _Everyday_. Inspector Shiratori sets his watch by you, you know." Again, he blushed.

"Yumi?" Another voice entered the conversation. He didn't have to guess who it was. "What are you doing out here? Don't you have work to do right now?"

"Oh," Yumi replied, "I just had something to tell Takagi-kun. You're right, though. I'm running a little late."

"Oh." Only Yumi could hear the slight downturn in her voice. She was suspicious. "Well, you caught me at my coffee break. Can't go much past a quarter after with out something to drink, you know."

"Aha," Yumi smiled victoriously. "I get it now." Takagi blushed to his ears; Sato just looked confused. "Well, I need to go on patrol. I'll just see you two later, kay?" She winked at Takagi and waved at Sato. "Bye."

"Bye," they both waved back to her. Sato blinked at Takagi. "Silly girl," she muttered. "So, Takagi," she began, a little louder, "how was the movie last night?" Takagi smiled.

"It was great. You really should have watched it. If they replay it, I'll tell you."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Well," he started, "I should get back." He turned to go.

"Um," her voice was quieter than normal. "What was Yumi talking to you about?" If he didn't know her better, he wouldn't have noticed a thing. Now, though, he could hear the insecurity in her voice.

"Nothing," he said to ease her suspicions. "She was just teasing me about something."

"Oh?" Sato's voice went up slightly. "Yumi does like to tease you, doesn't she?" Takagi sighed.

"Yes, she really does," he replied with a long suffering sigh that made Sato smile.

"Hey, Takagi?" She changed the subject quickly.

"Yeah?" he asked, confused.

There seemed to be an epic battle going on behind her eyes. Finally, she sighed.

"Nothing. I'll see you at karaoke tonight, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "See you then."

"Bye"

**Author's Note:** Well, obviously this is Pre-Matsuda case because after that they were actually... semi sorta dating. And this is so old. I actually had forgotten about it. But since I got 6 reviews today (6! I am in shock but oh so happy!), I decided to type it up as a thank you for liking my story. So ... thanks:D


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